instruction in the experienc es found in
practice. Through a systematic integration of
theory and practice students learn skill and
knowledge in a deep and thorough way. For
ma ny years, the BAC has taught spatial
design practice through concurrent edu cation ,
where students have worked in firms and
c ompleted course work on c ampus. Our new
Integrated Curriculum presents an evolved
way to deliver a holistically guided and
integrated curriculum in order to allow our
s tudents the f ulle st possible understanding
of the design fields.
Creating Capacity
Our new integrated, developmentally
sequential, practice-involved curriculum
grew out of large, organized initiatives
engaging BAC faculty and sta ff, with reviews
a nd critiques from our wider c ommunity.
First, our Foundation Task Forc e thoroughly
e xa mined Segment 1 of our c urriculum,
c oncluding that students need to meet a
series of learning goals in order to
succ e ssf ully complete their first portfolio
revie ws. This initial task force identified the
need to place the student at the center of her
or his own learning and to promote each
student’s c apacity to understand her or
himself a s a lifelong developing profes sion al.
The Task Force instituted a series of changes
in our practices of supporting our students
that have re sulted in incre a sed student
retention and success, a nd it created a plan
for a cross -disciplinary first segment of the
curriculum to be offered to all students at
this level. Supporting this endeavor ha s
been our robust advising system and our
programs a nd structures for a ssisting at-
risk students, which have been thoughtful
a nd thorough. In addition, the Foundation
Task Force identified sound philosophical
bases for moving for ward to improve our
education al offerings. These included —but
were not limited to — the identification of
the need to institute the systematic de velop-
ment of our students’ selve s a s practitioners,
to firmly root our students’ work in
The revisioning of
the curriculum is firmly
rooted in our educational
intentionality, based
on the BAC’s mission,
and a robust system
for evaluation.
Photo caption here, yay.
Kimberly Butler ’12 and Julia Nugent, Thesis Advisor, HMFH
Remediating the Malden, Matt Gilman MLA
PRACTICE
19
FEATURE ] TOWARD AN INTEGRATED CURRICULUM